The Parents
by Dr. Michaela Quinn
Summary: Sequel to Homecoming!
1. Parents are Coming

Reba walks in the front door. Jack is on the couch reading a book.

"Hi Jack. Where's Paul?" Reba asks.

"He's in his room sleeping. He's been napping about 15 minutes. Is Jennifer okay with pre school?" Jack asks.

"Yeah. She cried when I tried to leave, but after awhile she made a friend. Her mother and I made a play date for the day after tomorrow." Reba says. She gets into Jack's lap and sits there with her head against his chest.

"Can you believe our parents are coming for Christmas?" Jack asks.

"No… But my parents are coming all the way from Arizona. It will take a few days." Reba says.

"That's fine. Although I haven't seen J.V. and Helen since Jennifer was born. They haven't even seen Paul." Jack says.

"Well, our family pictures from the summer. But Mama hasn't said anything about us adopting Paul." Reba says with a sigh.

"Mama! Mama!" Paul hollers out from his bedroom.

"Hi baby. Mama's here." Reba says as she picks up Paul. Kyra comes into his room.

"Can I hold him?" Kyra asks.

"Sure." Reba says as she hands Paul to her.

"He's so cute." Kyra says bouncing him.

"Are you my daughter?" Reba questions Kyra. Kyra looks at her.

"Of course I'm Kyra mom. I'm just grown up. Do you mind if I go see dad for Christmas after Christmas?" Kyra asks.

"I can't stop you from going back to Houston Kyra. If you want to go see your dad and Barbara Jean I can't say no. Go ahead." Reba replies.

"Thanks!" Kyra screams hugging Reba. Paul starts crying.

"Give him to me. Don't make him cry." Reba says taking Paul. "Come here. Kyra can be a pain sometimes."

"I thought I had grown out of that stage." Kyra replies.

"So had I… So had I." Reba responds nodding her head. Kyra laughs and exits.


	2. They Show Up

Helen and J.V. McKinney walk into Reba and Jack's house.

"Mama! Daddy!" Reba says hugging them tightly.

"How's my little carrot top?" J.V. asks Reba.

"I am doing fine daddy. Are you ready to spend Christmas with us here in Boston?" Reba asks.

"Of course, Reba." Helen says hugging her. "Where are Jack, Jennifer and Paul?"

"Right here." Jack says walking in with Paul and Jennifer.

"Hi Jack." Helen says hugging him. She takes Paul from Jack.

"Paul, you are so sweet. How long has Paul been in your family?" J.V. asks.

"Several months? About 6 months." Reba replies nodding.

"Well he is very cute." Helen says.

"Are the other kids coming for Christmas?" J.V. asks.

"They will be here later. Cheyenne, Kyra and Jake want to spend Christmas with their dad, and Jack and Cheryl's kids want to come see us a day or two after Christmas." Reba replies.

"Why aren't your kids spending Christmas with you all?" Helen asks.

"It's fine mama. We have Paul and Jennifer. That is our family together. We don't need the others to be here to have Christmas with our family." Reba exasperates.

"Are you sure? They're your family, honey. You need to see them too. Although, this little girl is adorable." Helen says taking Jennifer from Jack. "Hi sweetheart." Jennifer whimpers.

"Oh, she's tired. Come here honey. We'll go take a nap. She'll feel better in a few hours." Reba says taking Jennifer to the bedroom. There is a knock on the door. Jack opens the front door. He sees Jake, Cheyenne, and Kyra standing there.

"Hi kids. Your mom is in the nursery. What are you doing here?" Jack asks them.

"We wanted to have Christmas with mom and dad, so we brought a Houston Christmas to Boston." Cheyenne tells him.


	3. Cheyenne, Van & Jake come for Christmas

"Oh Cheyenne! I am so happy to see all of you! Thanks for coming for Christmas." Reba says.

"Yeah, give Cheyenne all the credit when it was actually my idea." Kyra replies looking at her mom.

"I'm sorry Kyra; I just thought that it was Cheyenne's idea. I know how much she wanted to see Paul." Reba states.

"You think I didn't want to see Jennifer and Paul? They are my little brother and sister too." Kyra says.

"I know. I just didn't know. Well, have you seen your grandparents? They are here too." Reba states.

"I haven't seen them yet. But we did see Paul, Jennifer, and Jack." Kyra replies.

"Jennifer is very cute, mom. She looks like you, but she has just enough of Jack in her to make her sweet and not look like us." Cheyenne says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reba asks.

"I love the way I look, but I think Jennifer will be so much cuter because she doesn't have dad in her." Cheyenne explains. Jack walks in and wraps his arms around Reba.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Cheyenne. If I could have any step kids in the world I'm glad that it's you, Kyra and Jake. Your mom has raised you right." Jack says.

"Well, since we have to have a step-father we're glad it's you." Kyra replies.

"Kyra! Be nicer to him. He is your sister's dad." Reba hollers.

"Well if it were up to me, she'd have a few brothers and sisters." Jack says kissing Reba's neck.

"Jack! Not in front of the kids." Reba says sheepishly.

"It's okay mom. I'm used to it. I've spent a lot of time with Van and Cheyenne." Kyra exclaims.

"Hey!" Cheyenne hollers.

"It's true." Kyra says.

"Fine, but I still don't want any of this to happen here." Reba states. Just then J.V. and Helen walk in.

"Good morning everybody. How are you all doing?" Helen asks.

"Carrot top!" J.V. calls out to Reba.

"Daddy!" Reba hollers hugging J.V. "How are you?"

"We're doing good hon. I'm glad to see that your kids are all home for Christmas." J.V. says.

"Oh me too daddy. I can't wait until we are all together on Christmas morning. That is a tradition that I hope never dies. Whether we are in Boston, Paris, Japan or anywhere." Reba states.

"Mom, as long as you love us and we love you we'll always be here." Cheyenne says hugging Reba.


	4. Christmas Morning

Reba and Jack walk down the stairs on Christmas morning. She is carrying Paul and Jack is carrying Jennifer. In their living room sit Cheyenne, Kyra, Jake, J.V, and Helen.

"What are you all doing up this early?" Reba asks with a yawn.

"It's Christmas morning. We've got some stuff we are exciting about giving you." Cheyenne says. Reba hands Paul to Helen and buries her face in her hands.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Kyra asks.

"I forgot to buy anything for you guys for Christmas! This is the first year in a long time that I didn't buy for you guys." Reba says.

"Mom, it's okay. We don't need gifts. We are here to celebrate the holiday with you guys." Cheyenne states.

"You're sure?" Reba questions.

"Positive." Kyra says. Cheyenne just looks at her.

"Can everybody open my gifts? I bought a little something for each one of you." Jake exclaims.

"Sure bud. Just pass everything out and we can open it." Jack says bouncing Jennifer while she squeals. Reba laughs at her family. Jake gets up and passes out the gifts to Cheyenne, Kyra, Jennifer, Paul, Jack and his mom. Then looks at his grandparents.

"I'm sorry I didn't get anything for you. I didn't realize that you all would be here." Jake says. Helen and J.V. nod.

"It's okay Jake. We just came to see your mom and step dad." Helen replies.

"Okay. Well everybody, who's going to open their gift first?" Jake asks.

"Maybe we should let Paul open his first. Him being the youngest." Jack suggests.

"Okay, that sounds good." Jake says.

"Do you wanna open your present Paul? Come on, it'll be fun!" Helen exclaims wanting to get Paul excited about opening the gift from his big brother. Paul takes off some of the paper and puts it in his mouth.

"Paul, no!" Reba hollers and taps his hand. Tears appear in Paul's eyes, but he still crawls over to her and sits in his lap. Helen pushes his gift over to him. Reba takes off the paper and looks at it.

"Oh Jake, it's nice but don't you think it's a little extravagant?" Reba asks.

"I had a train set just like that when I was little and I wanted him to have one." Jake replies smiling.

"Well if you're sure that this is what you want to do." Reba replies, and then looks at Jack. "Do you want Jennifer to open hers next?"

"Yeah, then Kyra can open hers." Jack responds. "Hey Jennifer. Do you wanna open this and see what's inside of it?" Jennifer squeals and rips the paper off. Inside is a doll house.

"Oh, it's beautiful. I think she'll really like that Jake. Thank you." Reba says.

"You're welcome. I thought being a little girl that she might enjoy a doll house." Jake replies. "Kyra, do you want to open yours now?" Kyra pulls the box onto her lap.

"Jake, it is awful heavy." Kyra states.

"I know." Jake replies. Kyra takes the paper off to reveal her new electric guitar. She just looks at Jake.

"With you starting up that new band I thought that you might need something to be able to play besides that acoustic guitar that you've had for years." Jake states.

"Well thanks Jake. I don't know how I can repay you for it." Kyra says hugging her little brother.

"You don't have to. That's why it's a gift. Cheyenne, are you going to open yours?" Jake asks. Cheyenne picks hers up and tears off the paper in one smooth motion.

"Thanks Jake!" Cheyenne exclaims.

"Well, I know how much you like to look at yourself, so I bought you a full length mirror for your bedroom." Jake says. Cheyenne hugs him tightly. Jake looks at Reba and Jack expectantly. They look at each other.

"Do you want to go first?" Reba asks Jack.

"I can if you'd like me to." Jack picks the bag up off the floor and takes the gift out of the bag. "Oh Jake. This is this is the most heartfelt gifts I've ever gotten." Jake smiles.

"I knew with moving to Boston you would need a new name plate for the door to your office, so I had this made up." Jake says. Jack hands Reba the name plate and she rubs her hand across the name. _Dr. Jack Morgan, Marriage Counselor._

"Jake, it's beautiful. I am scared to open mine, with how expensive you went on everybody else's gifts." Reba says with a laugh.

"Go ahead and open it mom." Jake says pushing her to open it. Reba puts Paul on her right leg and leans down to open the gift at her left foot. After opening it she gasps.

"Oh Jake!" Reba says with tears in her eyes. Sitting at Reba's feet was a karaoke machine.

"I remembered how you told me that you always wanted to be a singer, so I got you this to kind of help fulfill your dream of singing." Jake replies.

"Oh honey, come here." Jake walks over to her and hugs her.

"I love you mom. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Jake; I love you too." Reba says with tears streaming down her face.

"Why don't you plug that thing in and sing something for us mom?" Cheyenne asks. Before Reba can even respond Jack has the machine out of the box hooking it up to the wall.

"Oh, I don't think I could sing right now." Reba says rubbing the tears from her eyes with her hand.

"Come on, please?" Kyra asks. "Maybe sometime I could play and you could sing."

"Okay." Reba replies. Jack hands her the microphone.

"It's on babe. Sing whatever you want whenever you're ready." Jack says smiling. After a minute of thinking Reba starts singing into the microphone, her voice being amplified all over the room.

_"Si-ilent night, holy night. Round yon virgins, mother and child."_ Reba starts, and pretty soon the entire family is singing Silent Night right along with her.


	5. The Contract

**A/N: My beloved **_**REBA**_** readers. I am SO sorry that it has been almost a year and a half since I wrote my last chapter. I can almost swear to you that it won't be so long between chapters for this story again. Thank you for being patient with me. Enjoy.**

A few days later Reba walked into the living room and Jack was on the phone. He had his back turned to her and as soon as he turned around and saw her standing there he hung up abruptly.

"Who was that? Should I be jealous?" Reba asked in a joking manner. Jack laughed.

"No, don't be jealous. I'm actually jealous of you right now." Jack said with a huge smile.

"You're jealous of me? Why?" Reba questioned. Jack stared at her with a grin. He walked over to her and took her hand in his.

"Come with me. You'll find out soon enough." Jack stated.

"Jack, I can't go anywhere. I'm in my pajamas. I need to change my clothes." Reba exclaimed. Jack looked at his wife, standing there in her pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

"I guess you should go change. Put on something that's businesslike." Jack said. Reba walked up the stairs to her room.

_"What in the world is going on with Jack lately? He has been acting strange ever since Christmas."_ Reba thought to herself. But she went upstairs and got into her closet and looked for a "businesslike" outfit. She pulled out one of the business suits that she wore to the office when she was a realtor. This should be good for whatever Jack wants her to dress up for. After she slipped on the skirt and jacket, she walked back downstairs to find Jack on the phone again. This time she tried to stay out of his eyesight and listen to what he was saying.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity! You won't regret it." Jack said and then hung up the phone. He turned around and jumped when he saw Reba standing there. "Reba, don't scare me like that." Reba crossed her arms.

"Maybe I should be nervous Jack. You don't want me hearing you on the phone. Talking about special opportunities? Now where are we going?" Reba asked.

"Like I said, that's not important just yet. Come on. You'll find out when we get there." Jack replied. He and Reba walked out of the house and into the car.

[

A little while later, they pulled into a space on the third level of the parking garage.

"What are we doing here Jack?" Reba asked for about the tenth time since they left the house. Jack laughed and looked at her as he turned off the car.

"Come on Reba. Have a little faith in this husband of yours." Jack leaned over and lightly pressed his lips against hers. He pulled back and opened his car door. "Now come on." Jack and Reba got out of the car, walked through the parking garage and into the afternoon air. Reba followed Jack down the block to a tall building. They went inside and got into the elevator before Reba realized where they were.

"This is the recording studio. What are we doing here?" Reba asked looking at Jack. "What opportunity were you talking about on the phone? Are we meeting somebody here?" Jack shook his head at his wife. They rode the elevator almost all the way up to the top floor when they finally got off. Jack took her hand and they walked through the building until they got to the door where Jack knocked at the door and then walked in. A man stood up and walked over to shake his hand. Then he looked at Reba and then back at Jack.

"You told me she was beautiful Jack, but that doesn't even begin to describe her." He exclaimed and Reba blushed.

"Thank you." Reba looked down at the ground.

"Well, I think we should fill out some paper work to make this official."

"What? Make what official?" Reba looked between the two of them. The man looked at Jack stunned.

"You didn't tell her?" He asked. Jack looked at her and then back up at him.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Jack stated.

"But how did you get the-" The man started to say and then stopped.

"My step-son. We schemed together after I got this idea." Jack replied.

"What about Jake?" Reba questioned. Jack pulled out a chair.

"Reba hon, why don't you sit down and we'll let Matthew here explain it to you."

"Me?" He exclaimed. Reba eased herself into a chair.

"Yes, it's your job." Jack responded with a smile. Matthew sighed. Then he looked at Reba.

"Reba," He paused, "Mrs. Morgan, Jack and your son Jake sent in a tape of you singing Christmas carols with your family a cappella. We liked the southern drawl and your soft innocent voice. We'd like to give you a contract. I've already talked all this over with your manager, but you are the one who has to sign all the contracts."

"What?" Reba looked at Jack. "A music contract? You mean touring and albums and stuff?" Matthew nodded with a huge smile.

"Eventually. You just need to sign these contracts." Matthew said. Reba looked at Jack.

"I can't believe you'd do all this for me." Reba said with a tear in her eye. Jack hugged her. He kissed her temple.

"I've read over the contract three times. All you have to do is sign it sweetheart. And you'll be the country star you've wanted to be for years." Jack stated. Reba sat and read the contract to herself. Slowly, when she laid it back on the desk, she smiled.

"I don't see anything wrong with this contract. I can't thank you enough. Both of you for this opportunity." Reba said.

"No, thank you." Matthew replied. "There won't be a bigger name out there in the country. Can you imagine it? The name Reba will be heard all over the nation. People will listen to your music everywhere. In the shower, in the car, doing dishes, washing windows. Women will love you!" He exclaimed. Reba shook her head.

"I don't think it'll be that popular. I mean come on, who in the world would listen to a red haired country singer with a name like Reba?" Reba asked. Matthew chuckled.

"We'll see what your popularity rates are after we get you on the road." Matthew picked up the contract. "The ink has almost dried. Well I'm sure that you guys will want to get packed. Since you've agreed, we are having a meeting in Nashville a week from today to make the final arrangements."

"Nashville?" Reba looked up at Jack, but Jack didn't take his eyes off Matthew.

"We'll be there." Jack nodded.

"Well, I have a plane to catch. I have to go meet with the assistant to Miss Loretta Lynn. She's still going strong at her age. That will be you too Reba. I can feel it." Matthew rushed out leaving Reba and Jack to sit there by themselves. Jack walked over to the door.

"Jack, I'm speechless. I'm not sure what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Jack said with a smile.

"Thank you so much Jack. I never would have had the faith in myself to send anything in to even try to get a music contract and you did it for me." Reba stood up, walked over and kissed him. "Thanks so much."

"You're welcome Reba. I just have one more thing to say to you."

"What?"

"Merry Christmas."


End file.
